1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of intelligent networks, and more particularly to the operation of a call center based upon data disposed within a line information database (LIDB) in an intelligent network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The intelligent network of today bears little semblance to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) of old. In fact, the term “intelligence” has little to do with the operation of the conventional PSTN. Rather, the PSTN of today incorporates a massive complex of switching matrices and transport trunks that, through the electronic equivalent of “brute force”, forge the interconnections necessary to call completion. More particularly, for decades for every call processed the PSTN relies upon each successive switch to route a voice signal to the next. Still, today the sheer volume of calls placed through the PSTN demands a faster, more streamlined approach to call routing.
To overcome the elements of the brute force aspect of the conventional PSTN, physically separate signaling networks have been grafted upon the transport and switching PSTN elements to oversee call set-up and billing. These “out-of-band” adjuncts speed routing data and commands directly to the switches involved, establishing all the necessary links prior to the actual calls transmission. With “out-of-band” signaling, the PSTN has become “conscious” of the operations it is to perform prior to their execution. Consequently, the PSTN has become a more flexible beast, capable even of substantial logic.
The development of the “out-of-band” protocol, Signaling System 7 (SS7), has led to the widespread deployment of intelligent network technology. In SS7, signaling links transmit routing packets between switches. Consequently, specialized SS7 Signaling Transfer Points (STPs) appeared to shepherd routing messages from local switches onto a high-capacity packet switches for distribution to other switches, STPs and call-related databases, such as the Line Information Database (LIDB), Toll Free Calling database and other databases containing customer information or additional call routing instructions. And, so, the agility of high-speed computer networking began exerting control over the raw power of the PSTN.
The marriage of convenience between SS7 and the PSTN soon produced the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)—an architecture where centralized databases control call processing. Logic ported via STPs to select switches now have become widely distributed throughout the network. AIN-capable switches also have begun to function as interactive signaling-platforms. Equipped with resident software triggers, AIN capable switches now can halt a call in progress long enough to query Service Control Points (SCPs), databases containing service logic and subscriber information which can provide instruction as to how to route, monitor, or terminate the call. The PSTN of today now effectively includes long-term memory as well as intelligence. Accordingly, the modern local exchange carrier holds the means to deploy such advanced telecommunications features such as telephone number portability, wireless roaming, call waiting and a host of other subscriber options.